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Cultural narratives about later life fromthe perspective of self-realization
July 3, 2014
Key-symposium ‘Positive aging’
Hanne Laceulle
University of Humanistic StudiesUtrecht, Netherlands
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Presentation outlook
-Narrative in gerontology
-Problematizing cultural narratives on aging
-Narrative repair through counter narratives
-Self-realization as foundational concept for counter narrative on aging
-Conclusion
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Narrative in gerontology
-Psychological narrative gerontology => personal meaningoriented
-Critical/feminist narrative gerontology => culturalmeaning oriented
-Cross-fertilization remains underdeveloped
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Cultural narratives: the case of aging
-Observed lack of meaning-generating cultural narrativesabout aging
-Problematizing existing cultural narratives
-Searching for alternatives: self-realization discourse
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Cultural (master) narratives
Cultural narratives
Narrative
Identity
Meaning
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‘The stories (or story fragments) “told” by a culture to communicate the values, expectations and attitudes of thatculture’ (De Medeiros 2005, 2)
Aged by culture: decline narratives or age-defying narratives
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Positive aging?
Merits of positive psychology-based views of aging:
- Human potential for excellence, growth anddevelopment
- Creation of favorable conditions
Problems:
- Positive aging may become an oppressive andexcluding ideology itself
- Insufficiently capable of acknowledging existentialvulnerability
- Lacks potential for cultural criticism
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Repair through counter narratives
- Damages of oppressive or marginalizing cultural master narratives (Nelson 2001):
- Deprivation of opportunity
- Infiltrated consciousness
- Resisting stereotypes on three levels:
- Refusal
- Repudiation
- Contestation
- Successful counter narrative requires strong moralagency
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Self-realization
Gewirth (1998:3) defines classical conception of self-realization as
‘a bringing of oneself to flourishing completion, anunfolding of what is strongest or best in oneself, so that itrepresents the successful culmination of one’s aspirationsor potentialities’
Re-interpretation in late modern terms:
The endeavor to shape one’s individual life, by means of the development of a moral identity, according to one’sown authentic value orientations, in the context of the complexities and uncertainties of the late modern world
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Self-realization and aging
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Conclusion: merits of self-realization
– Antithetical towards decline narratives• Emphasis on growth and development
– Antithetical towards age defying narratives• Acknowledging and integrating
existential vulnerability
– Emphasis on development moral agency/identity• Important condition for creation counter
narratives
– Connects personal and cultural meaning-level
– Acknowledges late modern diversity of living and aging trajectories
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Thank you for your attention…
Looking forward
to any questions or comments!
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Contact: [email protected]